OUT OF RETIREMENT ALREADY-THINKING ABOUT 2010

After a month off and acting like I don't care, the local Cyclocross scene has me semi-motivated about actually getting off my duff and returning to competition.

Attending the 2009 Blue Sky Xilinx CX in neighboring Longmont was a methadone treatment into the addictive world of cycling competition.

Sugar and I just hung out with COMO buddies and fellow workers to enjoy the great Colorado outdoor recovery from a recent snow storm. Sun and mud were plentiful for a perfect Halloween Saturday in Colorado.

My personal pick for the win was Georgia Gould who took the Silver in Longmont

Women's Results:
1. Katherine Compton Planet Bike
2. Georgia Gould Luna Chix
3. Alison Dunlap Luna Chix
4. Meredith Miller Cal Giant Strawberry
5. Kelli Emmett Giant Bicycles
6. Amy Dombroski Webcor Builders
7. Heather Irmiger Subaru/gary Fisher
8. Barbara Howe Vanderkitten
9. Alison Powers Team Fuji
10. Lisa Matlock Strong Natural Grocers P/b

CT managed a respectable finish and spent 45 minutes waiting to power wash the muck from the drivetrain of his Yeti CX steed.

Oliver went silently by barely recognizable with the "red beard" removed. Something about getting married the week before. I don't get it.

Motivation had me riding the Yeti CX from B'field to the Boulder Cup race Sunday at the Boulder Reservoir. The 45 mile, 2K foot elevation gain road ride was not hard but I'll need to catch up over the winter months and pay for the Whoppers and fries.

Yeah, that's the ticket-snow mud and sunshine.

Still In De-Training Mode

Wedding done.
Since the season ended I've riden the Yeti CX 25 miles on the Dry Creek trail and one clumsy climb up Mt. Falcon. Studying what to do next while the weight piles on..Any suggestions? Just don't say Cros racing..

Final Weekend Split Between Friends and Team

The middle week of September was split between long-time friends Martha Spaulding and Dr. Paul Fournier and the 2009 COMOtion Sports team both celebrating monumental events. Friday's get-out-of-town scramble took us to the tunnel, then a hard right at Silverthorn up to Kremling and on to Steamboat Springs after ascending Rabbit Ears Pass. We were there for Paul and Martha's wedding atop the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort. An awesome event highlighted by a high altitude sunsetthat got more spectacular by the minute as we watched the evening retire over the golden Yampa River Valley. We were 10,568 feet above sea level.

After an evening of dancing with my bride of 36 years and a couple or six adult beverages later, we enjoyed the final weekend at a Colorado ski resort without having to switch number plates, lube chains or calculate glucose levels, warm up or start times. NICE!!!!

Sunday noonish we headed south to Breckenridge to celebrate with the team who made the 7th consecutive Mountain States Cup Series championship a reality.The series awards came late but as predicted, I managed to survive for a silver medallion second place in the Cat 2 50+ men's division. Elephant Rock century and Copper Triangle plus sixteen races including the Super "D" series is a long and (+$) summer sport.

The Team laid cool as ever passing time before the final series announcements with an impromptu Nerf football game under the stage.
After category awards, we took our rightful place center stage announcing once again that we were the most organized, talented and serious team in the series. Credit to the freshmen for carrying the alumni through- Margie, Evie, Cary, Holly and Ryan spot lighted the podiums and kept even the oldest of the group enthused about the year's outcome. Thanks guys, proud to call you teammates.

2009 Mountain States Cup Series ChampionsLANCE DID NOT DO 8

Sol Survivor Now Understood

Teammate Cary Dunn and I enjoyed the reasonable way to ascend Sol Vista's climb..................................
The next to last stop on the 2009 Mountain States Cup Series ( http://www.racemsc.com/ ) was held at Sol Vista Ski Resort and titled "Sol Survivor. I'm not sure if I was the only one, but survivor describes the 3 day stay accurately.
Having broken every training, diet and race preparation rule this year I should not have been surprised that my performance sucked. I've been run down now for the last 2 months evident with high blood glucose readings, respiratory infections, constant sinus drainage and multiple fever blisters.
Enough excuses.

I wanted to cement a podium for the series final in Breckenridge next weekend without having to endure the 3 -event stage race final.

Mission accomplished!!
Adding 344 points for the series through the XC and STXC gruel, I'm in for a second place finish in the Cat 2, 50+ series. My apologies to cheering COMotion Sports teammates embarrassed by my double-lapped short track run during the 30 + youngsters race.

The XC course included never ending climbs and the most technical descents ever encountered in 7 years of XC racing. Riders attempted to stay clipped but somewhere between the first drop and the pass beside the EMT hammock, you died. If you made that descent...your eyes were closed and you smoke dope. The terrain mimicked a badly cleaned, 15 degree fireplace pit that was littered with baby heads, momma heads, daddy heads and dinosaur heads. Add on that airborne dust eliminated any visibility. The same section was used in the Super Downhill and qualified for the pure Downhill route. The emergency vehicles streaming past our resort room all weekend was a reminder of just how tough the conditions were at the Sol Survivor.

Monday's Super D race was as always, a fun ride. Knowing what was in store from the XC drop, I was sure to purposely line up in the second squadron and I just grabbed the ASX by the horns and tried to ride the 41 pound bucking bronc to the bottom. The over 50 trio of me, Woody and Frenchie have had fun all season long and politely assembled at the rear, grinned and grunted downward. I elected to toss the Yeti down the drop and slide on my butt until we were reunited at the bottom.

Sol Vista hosted the team's annual feed and sponsor appreciation event. Thanks to Felix, Marcy and crew for rustling up the grub for stinky and hungry COMotion racers and friends.

To get an idea of a typical SV DH run, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1LIAUpKwk&feature=relatedt

COPPER CUP COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE....

Last place in the XC, next to last in the Super D and a two in a row DNF in the Short Track left me wishing this season was over. In reality, it all but cemented a second place attendance award for the 2009 Mountain States Cup XC Endurance Series with the +144 points awarded for 7th.

Youngster teammate Carry Dunn performed the hat trick this weekend winning all three events but may have pushing me off the podium in the 30+ Super D series.... All good!!!

The second ever DNF was caused by an over enthusiastic team member who pushed me faster than the tiny little 1.95 Kenda tires have ever gone on the ARC hardtail. The push was so violent that the jolt caused the tire bead to spin off the rim exposing the under-inflated road tube to the jagged rocks on the downhill section. My neck has also been stiff stince the incident.

Next week we wrap it up at Sol Vista with a laid back holiday weekend racing all three disciplines celebrating the 7th COMOtion Sports Team win with the wieners in attendance and the BBQ and beer a priority.

Yeti Tribe Meet-Wales 2009

COMotion teammate Chris Taylor and I took the plunge unsupported and represented the US at the 2009 Yetifan Gathering in Wales. Having attended all 8 US Yeti Tribe Meetings, I decided this year to go across the pond and attending one of the similar events there coordinated by Great Britain resident and http://www.yetifan.com/ creator Andrew. The 2009 event was held in Glyncorrwg, Wales.

Through the website forums, we got to know several of the Yeti devoted and arranged some assistance from tribe members there. Comotion team mate Chris Taylor has roots in the country and agreed to come along and share his left-sided driving skills.

Hosting us through the weekend were Fred and Melisa who treated us like rock stars and filled in the blanks when we were clueless. Fred designed a killer jersey to commemorate the meeting and is an avid mountain biker, rock climber, rugby player and golfer.

The organized rides began at the awesome Glyncorrwg ride center where many of the 35 meeting attendees were camping. Saturday's venture lasted a full 5 hours and had plenty of climbing and obstacles on the perpetually wet mountainside trails above the center. Sunday's ride was a shorter but at a quicker pace with fewer riders. They wore this old man out.

The riding might be compared to North Shore, or Northeastern US riding since rain was an everyday occurance. We were lucky and managed to get almost all the riding we could stand without be caught in any major rains storms.

The challenges of keeping drivetrains and bearing parts from rusting up is something we never worry about in 12% humidity Colorado. I dropped one very orange -nickle plated SRAM chain in the trash can after returning to the states.

I'll just let the photos speak for themselves and encourage anyone interested in more details to give me a shout.


A special thanks to all who helped put on the event and especially Fred and Melisa. We hope to repay the favor during a trip to ride Colorado's mountains.

STILES !!!!

More photos are on http://www.yetifan.com/ and CT's photo site at http://www.mtcolorado.com/raceday/thumbnails.php?album=43

DNFed

After 7 years of racing without a single mechanical failure, and DNF, Snowmass 2009 was the one. The same race 2 years ago forced an 8 mile bike push to finish but this was a plain ole DNF. Climbing out of the sawtoothed singletrack on the first lap, I found myself in a way too big front chainring and instead of calming down and downshifting, I stood up on the pedals and "CLINK" broke a power link barely missing the nut rupture associated with no-chaindrive-syndrome (NCS).

Confidence has been so high this year with the top level Yeti, Shimano and Continental trail-ware, I abandoned tools, spare parts and inflators altogether for the 2 hour ride. Gambled and lost.

There was little sympathy from team members as I whined about my mis-fortune and complete stupidity for not carying a single 2 oz. power-link.

Snake-eyes....you lose.

Highlight of the weekend was seeing the man..Lance Armstrong in the flesh and sweating like the rest of us. Turns out he looks like every other skinny racer on the start line but early on in the contest, he proved there was little competition for the Texan now sporting the Colorado State Championship jersey.

While I was licking my wounds at the top of the Short/Long lap divide, Lance came by me on his second lap through a choppy technical section and basically flew over the trail debris, across the service road and on to the lower section in a smooth flow making it look easy.

But he had a chain.

Just another day at work for L A.

Following day's Super D was a little better considering I finished without a mechanical, gained 1 spot in the series competition and beat Frenchie because he crashed. I did not break any bones or loose any flesh. I also did not suffered a position loss in the MSC Series XC competition since the locals beat everyone up.

Maybe I'm a lucky guy after all.

Thanks to Papa Taylor for the cool Snowmass photos.

Non-Stop August Starts With Copper Triangle Ride

August will be the month we did not stay home and pull weeds. Friday found us heading for Silverthorn where we would camp out at the Luxury Inn and I would be set for the 6:30am start of my first Copper Triangle road ride. Donations benefit the Davis Phinney Foundation http://www.davisphinneyfoundation.org/ and since the ride is on the Bucket List, this year seemed logical.

Most would doubt the intelligence of a guy who would leave his wife, 13 year old granddaughter and a friend all day in Silverthorn to shop the Outlet Malls but hey, you do what you gotta do.

The course ran me backwards on routes I have previously ridden during Ride The Rockies and the Triple Bypass. It also covered the awesome Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway between Leadville and Minturn I had not cycled. The Triangle consist of Freemont,Tennesee and Vail Passes.

The starting third of the course was a cold 36 degrees when we started the ascent up Highway 91 from Copper Resort to Freemont Pass at 11,318 feet above sea level then on to Leadville. I was 45 minutes into the climb before I ever used the big ring and an hour before the Dura Ace brakes were asked to participate. Once I could feel my fingers again in Pbville, thing got fun. Hwy 24 and Tennessee Pass is probably one of the most beautiful rides in Colorado with a 30 mile long stretch of conifer forest relatively unaffected by the pine beetle kill. We passed Ski Cooper and the famed Camp Hale on our way to the ultimate yuppie town of Minturn. After a parade through Vail's round-a-bouts it was on to the final climb of the day on the popular I-70 bike trail connecting Vail to Copper.

If you've traveled Interstate 70 in Colorado, you have seen the trail as it runs between the east and westbound lanes of the interstate after the Vail Pass rest area.

That single file bike path descent back to the starting line was our ceremonial final stage. The cheering crowds lining the corridored route through the resort base made everyone forget the climbs. For just a moment, we thought we were one of the hero finishers of the Tour de France. The event was flawless from my eyes. Well organized, supported throughout and a spectacular route. And the coolest thing on Vail pass..... Someone thought to have Cracker Jacks at the final aid station!

8th Annual Yeti Tribe Meet in Winter Park

WIENER DOG LIMBO TRICKS

Once a year the dedicated Yeti Tribe gets together to show off their latest Yeti builds, get re-acquainted, go for epic rides and m a y b e, have a brew or two. This year was no exception.

The group was 250 strong and met in an uncut stream side field at the edge of Winter Park, Colorado to continue the tradition. The Sarge has attended every official tribe meeting held since 2002. For this event, I loaded up a total of 10 bikes, 3 kin folks, 2 wiener dogs and all the camp gear to test the aging Silverado over Berthod Pass. All 7 Yetis were assembled front line in camp for drooling eyes.

Yeti freaks from all over the US and a couple of foreign countries assembled in the Beaver Village Lodge meadow to celebrate our brand.

Group 8:30 am mounted up for a 30 mile trek through Tipparary Creek and other Grand County singletracks while Taylor and I chose to cruise over to the WP Resort for chair rides up and super sweet downhill bombs on the long travel heavyweights.
"Lets make one more run before the 4:00pm lift deadline". One too many, the wind bounced us around on the lift line and cold wet gusts welcomed us to the summit. By the time we streaked down to treeline, it was pouring down hard on the final descent making the downhill course slick, nasty and cold.

Icky ride back to camp...seems like we were laughing though.

Cudos to Sarah Rawley, Chris Conroy, Steve Hoogendoorn, Big Joe Hendrickson and all of the Yeti crew that made the happening. Death to the coffee delivery boy.

See you next year in Durango.

Sol Vista National Championship Races Just Another Good Time

Just hated to stay home on a summer weekend so we tripped over to Sol Vista Resort for the 2009 National Championship Races.

SV is not the prettiest ski resort in Colorado and it does not have great facilities or many runs. What it did have this weekend is sun, loose powder sand and over 800 competitors in 5 disciplines. Race winners here took home a Stars & Stripes Jersey.

While I definitely just showed up for a good time, it turned out to be a fun course with high-walled berms, powdery turns and a short uphill climb where I could spin the XC legs and take advantage of the pure downhill competitors.

SOL VISTA NATIONAL SUPER D
CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Men 50+
1-Paul Zarubin (Northstar at Tahoe)
0:07:12
2-Robert Bevard (Horns Hill Hucksters / God / Bike Doctor)
0:00:08
3-David Strouse (COMotion Sports / Yeti)
0:01:59
4-Woody Harris (Mojo Wheels)0:02:13
5-Michael Kast
0:02:48

Much needed brownie points were gained when we pulled up at the Winter Park Chateau instead of the Super 8 I had mentioned earlier. The next 7 weekends are spoken for in the name of ME and my cycling. Love You Terri!!

(http://www.winterparkchateau.com/index.html)

FIRECRACKER 97 - NO-WHERE COLORADO

While most mountain bikers were heading for Breckenridge, Durango or Winter Park, I loaded up the Jayco and Silverado and beelined to wonderful Sterling, Colorado in the northeastern part of the state to enjoy the 4th of July celebrations.

Actually, we did not see any fireworks and forgot to put the flags out at the dilapidated Buffalo Hills RV Park off I-76 at the Sterling exit. Use to be a Jellystone Park campground in the '70s with a few signs of Yogi bear still around. Only there for the monthly elder-care trip spying on the 79 year old father-in-law since he never writes and let the phone thing lapse a couple of weeks ago. Long story.

I did managed to salvage the weekend by loading up the Yeti Road Project with dual water bottles and the road jersey with Powerbars and gel packs before proceeding northeast for beautiful Julesburg Reservoir (AKA Jumbo Lake) via State Highway 138 that parallels I-76. My work buddy, Brad Case was camped there with 87 relatives and various clan members so I thought I'd make a surprise appearance and bum water bottle refills.

After 40 miles of flat highway I was greeted with 5 miles of muddy country roads before topping out at the reservoir. I was so impressed with the local town of CROOK I passed through, I thought I'd share some stats with you in case you are looking for that perfect place to retire:

CROOK, COLORADO

Population in July 2007: 126.

Population change since 2000: -0.8%
Males: 65
(52.3%)
Females: 61
(47.7%)
Median resident age:
50.0 years
Colorado median age:
34.3 years
Zip code: 80726

Estimated median household income in 2007: $44,278 (it was $32,500 in 2000)
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $78,647 (it was $48,500 in 2000)
Mean prices in 2007: All housing units: $81,511; Detached houses: $82,721;

Mobile homes: $41,750

Since the males outnumber the females, I'd shy away from Crook if I were a widower.

The real thrill of the day was trying to outrun the ominous clouds and pending thunderstorms predicted for the area. I managed to made it back to ex-Jellystone world about 1:00 pm just in time to beat the T-storms.

Oh yeah, another wonderful biking weekend on the road in Colorado..and yip, the ole' man's doing fine.

Although I thought a lap around the lake would make the ride a century, I finished up with a total of 97 miles round trip. Close enough.

Crested Butte Challenge Too Much...

What a change a couple of weeks and 3,000 foot elevation gain can make!

The Shimano XTR Cross Country race at Crested Butte Resort threw me to the ground, stomped me and took away any cockiness Angel Fire and my fastest century ride may have planted. I came with nothing to offer the mountain and was anaerobic 200 yards from the starting line. Two laps with 1,600 feet of gain per lap threw me into the hunch-back survival mode and brought up the question again-- "WHY THE HELL DO YOU DO THIS? "

I'm just glad I'm not paying a cycling coach this year to tell me how bad I prepared for a particular race. I could list the variables but in reality, sometime you feel good and are happy with the outcome and sometimes you just suck and die. This was one of the races I sucked and died.

Finished 10th out of 10 on this one but still ranked 2nd in the series.

What I will always do despite the pain and results, is have fun!!

The best part of the weekend had to be the Sunday morning 8:00am start of the Super Downhill race. COMOtion chums Cris Taylor, Cary Dunn and I shared a chilly and wet chairlift ride to the top of the mountain for a mud slopped downward hurl. We pretended we were going to beat somebody to the finish line. Mission accomplished!
Yeti "Bossman" Chris Conroy was right there beside us on the SD startline proving the adage "practice what you preach" .

Crested Butte trails are like no others in Colorado with really dark organically rich soils that suck up moisture and produce spectacular wildflower carpets . The off-camber singletrack trails are deep and just waiting for you to bang a rim side into them so they can toss you over the handlebars like a rag doll.

With racing done, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and reminders we we live in ( and never leave) Colorado.

A picnic lunch along the Taylor River on our way to Cottonwood Pass and home ended another memorable MTBing race weekend.

A Ride With 7,500 of my Colorado Cycling Friends

The Elephant Rock Ride is not popular among the cross country race crew but, I still enjoy seeing families, "chubbies", old geezers and ex-high school jocks head out together on the open plains of central Colorado with one common goal FINISH!

The event was the first chance to try out some of the magnificent prodeal sponsor stuff. The Ritchey carbon wheelset contributed greatly to my best time ever with an average speed of 17.2 mph for the wind riddled 100 miler. A top speed of 46.2 mph was recorded 5 1/2 hours into the ride. Total crank time was 5 hours and 50 minutes. The borrowed Topeak Prepstand Max grabs all bikes by the downtube and serves as a stable rack for last minute chain lubes and shifter adjustments. Continental 4000S tires had more air in them when I finished than when I started.

Colorado headquartered and potential 2010 sponsor, Pearl Izumi made the ride extremely comfortable with their new Octane series bib shorts. A hundred miles in the saddle is no time to have your panties in a wad. The PRO series chamois kept me comfy throughout the ride and drew at least a couple of whistles from (bluehaired) ladies as I sprinted by out of the saddle.

E-Rock has definitely grown over the 7 years we've been riding it. The RV parking lot was 20% full when we snuck in a few minutes before the 3pm check in time.

Still the way to beat the massive Sunday morning traffic jams, camping at the Douglas County Fairgrounds lets you relax before the morning frenzy and shower a couple of hundred yard from the finish line.Munching on cedar plank grilled salmon the night before the ride helped provide needed protein and yumness.

Throwing in off weekend century road rides is a good way to keep the drumsticks from going flabby. Another weekend off then we climb the 10,000 foot Crested Butte cross country course. Next road ride-Copper Triangle http://coppertriangle.com/ August 1st.

NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN SOON-ANGEL FIRE -MSC#3 =STXC XC & SD

...not quite the hat trick....

WOW, what a great Memorial Day weekend in New Mexico. We used the 5 day vacation to combine the best of interests in family and racing into a neat package under the conifers and clouds of Angel Fire Resort, New Mexico.

Strouse clan L to R, papa, Tori, Bethany, Shyala, Joshua, Anthony, Chris, Teresa and Kaitlyn.

I've finally figured out the formula to actually end up on the top wrung of the podium... Leave your series competition in Denver and beat one local and a no-show.
Sarge's first Super Downhill (SD) race was a bit more intense than expected. The volcano trash deposited a million years ago was daunting enough as it formed a trail of jagged ridges you were suppose to race over. But the start line mentality was bizarre. These guys ARE SERIOUS about SD and the start line reminded me of scenes from Braveheart as they raced on foot from the start line to the bikes. Part of the ritual included a starting position of one knee and one elbow on the ground, facing the opposite direction of the waiting overweight steeds 50 yards away.

Grandson Anthony and I were way too laid back for the super downhill crowd so I was happy to finish 20th out of 22 starters.

Scoring a 2nd place victory in the 40+ Short Track Cross Country race behind fellow teammate Carry Dunn was another highlight of the weekend. And I HATE Short Track!! COMotion dominated the Cat 2 30-40 yr. old class and the weekend bringing home a near perfect 972 & 986 score extending the lead on the way to the 7th championship year.

Crested Butte- here we come!

SHORT BREAK FROM BIKING CHASING GOBBLERS

Just spent four days of solo brain-drain turkey hunting along the Purgatoire River in Southeastern Colorado. The hunt site was about as far away from civilization in Colorado as I could find. Twenty five miles south of La Junta, then 23 miles of dirt road to the ranch headquarters, 4 more miles into the ranch to the campsite and a final 2 1/2 mile mountain bike ride each morning to the roost area.





I wasn't entirely off the bike. Days before the hunt were spent outfitting the race retired 2007 ASR with a shotgun rack, GPS mount and hiking boot friendly platform pedals. The head strap mounted Petzel provided enough light to follow cattle trails on the pre-dawn rides in.
I believe I'm safe in declaring that I'm the first person ever to baptise an XTR crankset in the Purgatoire River crossing it twice a day to get to the roost areas.

Continental Mountain King tubeless 2.4's worked great in the land if prickly pear and cholla catus, sandburrs and yucca. Evidence of many punctures were present but the Stan's did its job every time.

In 1982 the Sarge was living in Oklahoma and feverishly involved in the out-of-doors. Before the passion was mountain bikes, I was chasing wild turkeys and slaying monster large-mouth bass every chance I had. I'm twenty seven years old in the photo above with one of my first birds.

During the last 27 years, the birds have gotten smarter. I evidently have not. After setting up on the same lone gobbler and his hens three mornings in a row, the closest I could call him in was about 75 yards. Just out of shotgun range. God bless him!

SECOND INSTALLMENT ON THE MSC TOUR COMPLETE

Back in 2006 when I competed in the cow pattie XC race at Nathrop, I ran the 3 laps in 2 hours and 6 minutes to finish 7th.. This year, the identical course (log jump #3 worn down from crank strikes considerably) took 2 hours and 8 minutes to finish 4 out of 5. Three years older and only added 2 minutes? Could be worse.

The course was a blast with long flat road sections, off camber sandy technical drops and twisty turny singletrack avenues along the banks of Chalk Creek. Mount Princeton served as a spectacular backdrop for the second race of the season.

Sunday morning quiet time with the girls, biscuits, eggs, bacon and coffee proved too tempting to roll out for the early AM short track race.

We did make it over to the venue to watch a bit of the gravity events on Sunday. Pretty cool. These kids ride on adreneline and spikes of testestrone to beat the other guy to the timer.

Cat 1 COMotion racer Matt Juth saw heavy competition on the short track.

Still early in the series, I have time to knuckle down and get serious about training 3-4 days a week, spending time in the weight room and cutting down on junk food and brewskis. It could happen.

SEASON OPENER ...MEMORABLE

The 2009 MSC opener had some very ominous signs to say the least. Lets go over the time line:
FRIDAY
2:20pm-Me and Charlie E. sneek out early from work (Big boss riding horses in Houston or something).

2:45pm-Meet Chris Taylor at the Yeti Park & Ride to load up 3 bikes, gear, team Continental tires, Smartwool duds, Crank Bros. backorders and provisions. Off to Fruita! Snow never hurt anybody!

4:15pm-CSP's finest wave us off I-70 at Georgetown with somber options. Go back to Idaho Spring for a shelter being set up there or wait it out in Georgetown.

6:10pm-Crackberry e-mails with other COMOtion team members confirm that yeah, you're screwed! Doug D. headed back as instructed and (eventually made it back to Golden at 3am Saturday morning.) Hang out at the Visitor Center. They love travelers. Motels.....ha sold out at 3:00pm.
7:00pm- Lovely Chinese dinner within walking distance. Two employees, 37 hungry, pissed-off traveler. WHERE'S MY POTSTICKERS!!....an hour later we were served our meal. Very good (always good with a 68 glucose reading)


9:30pm- Potstickers arrived after the meal. Kelli E. shows up after learning from e-mails we were there. Stares at potstickers.......Can we have some hot tea please?


11:30pm- Bar drunks and solo waiter give us dirty looks wondering if we were going to apply for residency. Kelli's cousin (one of 6,000 in CO) rescues her from the night. There's only 7 in their motel room so far.

11:40pm-Back to the WELCOME CENTER...more brochure reading.

SATURDAY

12:00pm-WELCOME CENTER becomes the UN-WELCOME CENTER. CT is booted out while Charlie and I sip coffee at the gas station. Seems he fits the profile of a vagrant. He's called a liar by the brassy broad locking up when he explains that "the nice man at the center had told us earlier that they would be opened all night." Strong letter to follow.

1:00pm: Warm up the Silverado Hotel get ready for a cramped 5 hour on/off sleep cycle. Charlie is 6' 3" and settles in horizontally in the extended cab's rear seat....kinda. Knees bent. Chris and I lean the seats back 45 degrees and stare at the ceiling....kinda. Every half hour I crank up the engine (driving lights go on and blind poor souls trying to sleep in the Subaru in front of us. Sorry) get warm and shut it off.

6:00am: Gotta pee..off to the gas station and hot coffee. Other survivors are starting to stir and all have horror stories about car napping with puking dogs, wet babies and dead batteries. Maybe it wasn't that bad after all.

8:15am: Official word is we're still shut down but the west bound gates are up and a lot of the trucks have disappeared. We're finally off to Fruita. Time Trial starts at 10:00am. $40 donation to Darner's retirement.

12:00 Noon: Arrive in Grand Junkyard after white knuckle drive between Georgetown and Vail. Just wet through the canyon and sunshine greeted us at Rifle. That was fun....After checking in at the Super 8, a shower and lunch we headed over to Rabbit Valley to pick up number plates and honor the BLM with a $5 donation to straighten out the sand once we're through. Charlie and I salvage the day with a short ride from the Tabeguache trailhead south of town towards the Ribbon Trail. Dinner with COMOtion team and a couple of Breckenridge brews and we're out for the night. Real beds with a pillow!

Sunday

With an 8:00am Cross Country race start time we set the alarms and arranged a wake up call for 5:30am. Load em up, Continental breakfast and off to race.

Lucy keeps watch over the COMOtion pit in case unwelcome competitors want to use our tire pump.

The opener results started out just like the last season had ended. Last place. I knew I was not ready to compete but I didn't think a was going to suffer that much. The legs were there but the lungs and heart went in shut-down mode about a half mile from the finish and I seriously thought I was looking at my first DNF ever.

The cheers from the vulture crowd on the last climb surged me through 12 minutes behind ex-Team Evergreen teammate Steve Como's win.

Disaster number 3 for the weekend started on the way back with a melted transmission as we left the Colorado River valley. Nice way to finale.

Thanks to COMOtion teammate Chris Butler, we continued eastbound in his sweet ride and backed the team trailer in the driveway at 10:30pm. A weekend adventure for sure. Race turned out to be the small part. Above and beyond, Chis nursed the sick Chevy to Rifle Transmission and another teammate Ryan Schultz brought it back to the front range Friday. Do I have great teammates or what?

POP GOES THE WIESEL!!!

OK, Larry Green blew the big storm prediction again but I still had enough faith to plan a bachelor's weekend of basement bike work, Internet cruising, Turbo-tax, and wiener dog play. Factory screw just freaked me out.

For no good reason, my metallurgical and engineering education and background kicked in and I decided to do a major re-vamp of a Vaison Elite bike travel bike box I just purchase at The Pro's Closet http://www.theproscloset.com/Shop/Control/fp/SFV/32625 in Boulder. The guys there get first dibs on several of the world's fastest team's left over cycling equipment and clothing.

My bitch was that all the hardware (bolts) pointed inward and posed threats to the content. Some had become loose and generally did not meet my quality standards. Other than that, the case was perfect. Drill and pop rivet was the prescription.

The box is for an August trip planned with COMo Bro. Chris Taylor to Wales to attend the UK Yeti Tribe Meeting. More on that later.

Now I feel better. Domed aluminum rivet heads greet my carbon parts instead of a stupid loose, false cap over a menacing M2.5 bolt steel shank.

So that my bike case doesn't get mixed up with the dozens of other elephant sized bike bags, I've cleverly attached COMOtion and Yeti stickers so I can pick them out on the 87 RPM baggage claim carousel.

Ipod updated. Better go to the fitness club Sunday to burn off beer and pasta ingested from the boring day inside.

2009 COMOTION SPORTS TRAINING CAMP HUGE SUCCESS

Boasting a 90% plus attendance, the 2009 Training Camp in Fruita was a great time and stoked the folks for the upcoming Mountain States Cup quest for an unheard of 7th consecutive team category championship. The roster is at the maximum allowable 30 racers strong with nearly every category represented.

Perfect weather greeting team members the entire 6 days in Fruita. Nights were chilly (I just turned up the heater at the Super 8) but 10:00 am, the sun was shining and outer appendage warmers were discarded like empty gel packs.

Saturday night was spent with team members and friends stuffing carb-deprived bellies with delicious Mexican food at Ryan & Autumn's GJ home.

Cervezas and Margaritas were toasted high when CT revealed the purpose and spirit of BIG JIM and why this season is dedicated to him and his daughter.... star Cat 1 racer, Megan Taylor. Big Jim passed a way June 23rd 2008.

A total of 28 riders counted off mid-ride Saturday during the big Rabbit Valley loop. Almost 35 team members and support folks started the I70/Exit 2 trailhead gathering. Some got lost.

The term "Herding Cats" was repeated several times by ride leaders. Not sure what that means.

Satellite image of Sunday's Road 18 route looks more like moonscape scenery than earth. Welcome to BLM's finest. What was really cool was to watch the reaction of weekend Trek riders when they watched the COMOtion team kitted peleton cruise through the main trailhead parking lot on killer Yetis. You would have thought we were rock stars. You know, I think we ARE rock and sand stars!! We sure looked fast and organized.
Rides were organized by locals Ryan Schultz and Chris Butler with volunteer leaders Kris Lathrop and Scott Gordon offering alternate routes on the Rabbit Valley and Road 18 expeditions.

Monday presented a great morning to grunt the uphill Colorado National Monument ride from the Fruita side. No traffic, cool in the shade, hot in the sun and desert scenery Moab can't out do.

Friday's dirty dozen............................................Another one in the book and a great start to the upcoming race season. First stop. Yip, Rabbit Valley.

NOW WER'E MOUNTAIN BIKING!!!

Great ride today with friends and teammates over on Buffalo Creek. Only took me twice to figure out why they call that trail "SANDY WASH". Let the blood and the good times roll!



Devora Peterson and Charlie Ellsworth roll through the burned and open hillsides of Buffalo Creek. My first trip there after hearing about it for 3 years. I was not disappointed.

Local BC resident and tour organizer Carry Dunn, left along with Gary Peterson, Megan and Chris Taylor, Rob Sousa and the Sarge rounded out the COMotion team riders.

Where's that antibiodic gunk............